The invention relates to a separator of solid particles for variable discharge fluid flow rates in dental apparatus.
In dental apparatus there is a production of fluids containing water, blood, amalgam, chemical products, etc., which must be discharged to the sewers respecting the anti-pollution laws which state that certain substances, such as amalgam and the like may not be so discharged.
In particular, in dental apparatus that uses liquid ring pumps to aspirate fluid from the mouth of the patient, the production of polluting fluids that contain air, various liquids and heavy particles, is quite abundant if discontinuous. Before being discharged into the sewers, these fluids must be freed of the above-mentioned polluting fluids.
In order to effect the separation of the solid particles from the said fluids, various systems are presently in use such as for example decanting systems which employ syphons, filtering systems and centrifuge systems.
Each of these systems presents some drawbacks. Filtering systems, for example, require very frequent maintenance due to the need for filter substitution; sedimentation systems are not able to deal with large quantities of fluid and do not offer, in particular for elevated quantities of fluids, a sufficient degree of separation within acceptable times. Centrifuge systems require rather expensive and delicate apparatus, whose cost and constructional complications increase considerably when the fluid flow rates to be dealt with are high.